OR Operation Report
presence in neighbouring countries, investing in developing its Pufina brand across the borders. As one of the largest providers of private label products for home consumption in Romania, the business is continuously working “with most of the large retail chains present in Romania”, producing toilet paper and kitchen towel products. It doesn’t directly work in the AfH “for now,” he adds. “Only through our retail partners, so Covid-19 has had little impact for us here in this sector. However, in the tissue private label market we are seeing a lot of growth year by year, but still not with such a rapid rhythm as we expected years ago. We have noticed an increase in quality for some of the private label products and a higher variety of products offers in this sector. Romanian consumers are definitely looking to buy good quality products which they know and trust, such as branded products.” However, he believes private label products will continue to grow in popularity in the Romanian market, and in response to that the company will continue to diversify its product portfolio: “There is still a place for trusted, good quality brands and private label products in the Romanian market if the products offer a good ratio of price and quality.” The Romanian market is “clearly growing in both volume and value”, and while the tissue market doesn’t generally undergo too many transformations as it is “a common good,” as prices have risen the quality of the products that customers are looking for has also increased: “About 90% of the market is made up of toilet paper and kitchen towels and we see that the napkin and handkerchiefs segments have fallen in the pandemic. We expect the market to continue to grow from now on, because there is still a big difference in consumption between Romania and other countries. Referring to consumption per capita and Romania is almost half compared to countries such as Germany or France.” For the immediate future the business will continue to focus on its key strategies. “We are the largest producer of paper products for household and industrial use in Romania and also the largest producer of industrial paper rolls in Southeast Europe. Our focus will remain here, as well as the continuous adoption of sustainability as one of our core values, and not just as a global trend.” He adds that the business has taken on a complex set of environmental,
“WE ARE THE LARGEST PRODUCER OF PAPER PRODUCTS FOR HOUSEHOLD AND INDUSTRIAL USE IN ROMANIA AND ALSO THE LARGEST PRODUCER OF INDUSTRIAL PAPER ROLLS IN SOUTHEAST EUROPE. OUR FOCUS WILL REMAIN HERE, AS WELL AS THE CONTINUOUS ADOPTION OF SUSTAINABILITY AS ONE OF OUR CORE VALUES.” Tissue World Magazine | May/June 2022
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